Nov. 3, 2001

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - On Wednesday, November 7, the Charlotte 49ers women's soccer team will continue its season as the #3 seed in the 2001 Conference USA Women's Soccer Tournament. The tournament, being held from Nov. 7-10 in Milwaukee, Wis., will be hosted by Marquette University.

In the first round, the 49ers will match-up against the #6 seeded Pirates of East Carolina. On Friday, November 2, Charlotte defeated ECU, 2-1, in the regular-season finale for both teams. It will be the first ever appearance in the C-USA Tournament for the Pirates, who are competing in Conference USA for the first time, this season.

Leading the 49ers into the tournament will be a trio of juniors. Forward tri-captain Jennie Leeder (Spring, Texas/Klein) leads the team with five goals and twelve points on the season.

Another tri-captain, defender Mikel Casey (Greensboro, N.C./Grimsley) paces the team with five assists, including four in conference play. Casey recorded an assist on the game-winner at East Carolina.

The other junior, goalkeeper Jenn Howell (Marietta, Ga./McEachern) returned this season after missing the second half of 2000 with a torn ACL to lead the team with five shutouts. She has played all but 16:08 of the season, while breaking two school records along the way. On September 28 at Southern Miss, she broke the school record for career shutouts (13) and at East Carolina on November 2, she eclipsed the career mark for career saves (221). Howell has set the new standards for each of these records, despite playing only two and a half seasons.

Third year head coach Neil Roberts' squad has won two in a row to clinch their position in the conference standings. The team finished the regular-season with a 9-6-3 overall record, including a 7-2-1 mark in C-USA.